She closed her eyes in her attempt to continue to calm her nerves. If she stretched her imagination far enough, she could almost feel the silky lengths of his sandy-colored hair as it had slid through her fingertips when she’d nursed him during his illness.Gideon… Would there ever come a day when he wouldn’t haunt her every waking hour? Since it was only just yesterday since the whole fiasco had occurred, she knew it was far too soon to consider that her world would become quickly balanced again. Everything was so tilted to the extreme extent where her emotions were concerned, she worried if anything in her life would ever become normal again. Even the memory of his warm and inviting voice filled her heart with regret. Love had been just within her grasp. How unfortunate that it had left her just as quickly.
“You best finish your tea, Violet, before it grows cold,” Arianna declared, interrupting her thoughts of Gideon. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait much longer for the repairs to the carriage to be completed.”
Violet took the last sip of her tea but as her friend had just mentioned, it had already grown tepid. She set the cup down to stare out the window. It was starting to rain. Perfect. Even the weather was against them. Arianna grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll be fine, dearest friend,” Violet replied to Arianna’s silent question while her eyes seemed to search for the answers Violet couldn’t provide. There could be no mistaking the concern in her friend’s features.
“You cannot blame me for worrying. I feel like I was completely useless to you while in London,” Arianna said, letting go of Violet’s hand to take a handkerchief from her reticule and using it to dab at her eyes. “How could I not see that you needed me?”
“You haven’t been feeling well for most of our trip. I know how much traveling indisposes you. I should have never asked you to travel with me to London,” Violet proclaimed as she took in her friend’s ashen face. “Even now, you’re barely holding on and we’ve only just made it out of the city.”
“You didn’t ask me, if you recall. Your cousin did, and how could I refuse the opportunity to see town?”
A scoff left her lips. “We barely saw anything and never had the opportunity to attend even one ball. What was the purpose of Patience sending us to have all those gowns made for us if we didn’t even get the chance to don half of them?”
“We would have worn them if we hadn’t left so unexpectedly. I realize you had a falling out with that gentleman who turned out to be Asher’s brother, but that was no reason why we couldn’t stay. I’m sure Mrs. Dove-Lyon would have had other potential husbands lined up for you to meet in no time.”
“There wasn’t going to be any other gentleman I would be interested in meeting, Ari,” she whispered as her own tears welled in her eyes.
“Oh, no! You were in love with him!”
Violet’s chin quivered. “At first sight,” she murmured, admitting to her friend how fast she had fallen for a complete stranger. “Who could have thought that I, of all people who is usually so rational, could have fallen so hard for a man from just one glance? I am the one who constantly remains levelheaded in all things that matter but I lost my sense from the moment I first saw him.”
“The heart knows what the heart wants… or so the saying goes,” Arianna said with a casual shrug. “I still can’t believe he thought you were scheming to catch him as a husband. The cad!”
Violet stared down at her hands that were still being held by her friend’s. A dull ache had been in the center of her chest since Gideon’s words left his mouth. And yet, there was some small part of her that wanted to believe he was sorry he had thought so little of her. Another scoff left her. That really was wishful thinking on her part.
She was about to respond to Arianna’s words when the door to the inn opened. Her driver came over to her table announcing they could return to the road whenever they were ready to depart. Violet told him they were finished and would meet him outside. As he left, another man filled the entryway and she held back a gasp of surprise. She turned away quickly, hoping the gentleman hadn’t seen her and Arianna. She clutched at her friend’s hand and moved her eyes toward the doorway. Luckily the major swiftly went up the stairway toward the upper floor rooms.
Once he was gone, they settled their bill and hastily left the inn. When they were finally on the road again, Violet kept looking out the window praying to God Major Dawkes wasn’t following them and that it was only a coincidence that they had stayed the night under the same roof.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gideon donned hisleather riding gloves as he came down the stairway at the Boar’s Head. The Tudor-style coaching inn with its dark-wood beams and welcoming staff was located a few miles outside of Bracknell. When he had come upon it, Gideon thought it might be more prudent if he stayed here instead of his original plan to ride on to Bracknell and attempt to find lodging there. This way he was close but not too close to Violet, on the off chance she gave him a chilly welcome.
He was expecting a berating much like the one he had received from his sister-in-law and was convinced that a fair amount of groveling on his part would be needed if he wished to redeem himself in the eyes of the lady. He more than deserved whatever set down Violet would give him. He could hardly forgive himself for jumping to conclusions about her. How would Violet even give him a second’s notice to allow him time to plead his cause and offer his heartfelt apology?
He’d be lucky if he got two words out.
Patience had told him Violet would most likely be at her apothecary shop and if not there, at the family mercantile. He was stillpleasantly surprised that his lady was so skilled as to be the owner of the shop but he should have realized such a fact from the treatment he had received at her hands. He took a moment to appreciate her talent and how much she had affected him. If he hadn’t told her she needed to leave Dr. Thornberry’s, he might have had to call for a special license to see them wed. He had been that close to showing Violet how desirable she was in his mind. Hardly the time or place while he was convalescing, and yet he still used her remedies for his pain and headaches long after she had left the doctor’s residence.
“Captain Tyler!” a voice called once he’d descended the stairs. He turned to see Mrs. Myers coming from the kitchen area holding a small linen parcel. She thrust the wrapped package into his hands; whatever was inside was still warm.
“You cannot leave the Boar’s Head on an empty stomach, Captain Tyler,” the owner declared with a cheery smile set on her round face. “My husband would give me a set down for the rest of my life, letting a guest leave without breakfast.”
He took the offering with a nod of thanks. “You are too kind, Mrs. Myer. I will certainly recommend your inn to any of my friends who might travel this way.”
“Why bless my soul… that is too generous but we appreciate such thoughtfulness. I’m always thankful for travelers who stay here rather than in Bracknell. Your kind words about our place will be good for any future business. I just know it.” She beamed again and he watched her gray curls bob as she wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist. “Will we see you for the evening meal, good sir? Mr. Myer has a whole boar being smoked out back for tonight. It’s what we’re famous for; surely don’t want to miss it.”
“I may be back sooner than planned if my reason for traveling to Bracknell fails,” he murmured politely.
“I’ll keep some warm for you in case you return late,” she declared. “Safe travels, Captain Tyler. Your horse should be saddled andwaiting for you out front.”
He gave her a nod and left the coaching inn. As the owner had informed him, his horse was indeed readied, and waiting for him at the mounting block. A stableboy held the reins while he double checked the girth out of habit from his days in the calvary. Once everything was secure to his satisfaction, he placed one booted foot in the stirrup, swung his free leg over the saddle, and settled himself into place, gathering the reins as he did so. Then, with a touch of his heels into his steed’s side, they were off at a brisk walk before moving into a trot. There was no sense pushing the horse into a gallop. Bracknell wasn’t far and the hour was still early. Violet might not even have been at her apothecary at this hour of the morning.
As he ate the fresh bread and cheese Mrs. Myer had provided him, he slowed his mount and took in the view. The countryside had rolling hills and forests he had become used to as he traveled farther from the city. Since he had nothing to occupy his mind other than how he hoped his conversation with Violet might occur, he began to rehearse what he planned to say to her. But his mind began to wander to their past encounters. He sighed as he remembered waking up from one of the most pleasant dreams he had ever had while recovering at Dr. Thornberry’s.
He never expected that his dream had become a reality when he saw his angel in the flesh and those cerulean-blue eyes that seemed to bore into his soul. Her fingertips, when she had massaged his temples, had such a calming effect on him. At the time, he had wished to never let the lady leave his side. Admitting he had feelings for her even though they barely knew one another was hard to hold back but she had never left his mind from the time he first saw her on the Lyon’s Den gallery balcony.
